109OZ’s Pop Up Party was the hippest on the block

Last Thursday afternoon we bought a few new pairs of super skinny jeans, donned our Warby Parker‘s and read a few back issues of Vice Magazine.

Why?

We had to get hip, fast, so we could attend the 109OZ “Pop Up Party” at the sales centre on Ossington, just south of Dundas.

Those familiar with the area know that it’s just about the hippest ‘hood that Toronto has to offer and 109OZ is smack dab in the middle of it.

Surrounded by great cafes, restaurants, uber-cool bars and assorted nightlife, this area is a quintessential cultural hub.

The sales centre had a pretty little scale model and model suite and we were able to nab a few photos, but the crowd was piling in for the evening event and we had to abandon our photo session as the room filled up. The party was bumping until the wee hours with an amazing performance by Eight and a Half, a new band featuring members of Broken Social Scene and The Stills. Too hip.

We’ll be swinging by the sales centre soon to take some more professional pics, but until then enjoy this interview we did with Shelley Fenton, president of the developer behind 109OZ, Reserve Properties during the event.

Shelley Fenton: The preceptor of everything we do is we find locations where people really want to live. We’re not just building for investors, we’re building projects that really where people want to live. It’s a place where people want to have the pride of ownership living in that particular location. We choose sites in the cities that we think are fabulous places where people want to be. Ossington is a real hot street; it’s young and fun. If you take a look at the restaurants, antique shops and all the spots to visit — people love living in the heart of all this activity. It really feels like a design district in New York. Our vision was to help deliver that to Toronto.

Once we knew this was where we wanted to go, we started knocking on doors. We went out and bought a garage, an old car sales lot and another building next door. So between the three pieces we have a site that’s about a half an acre. We’re creating a project that encompasses about 85 units and about 80,000 square feet. Our design is also really fun!

BBH: You’re working with the architect Roland Rom Colthoff of RAW Design on this project. Have you worked with him before?

SF: We’ve used Roland on a number of our infill sites. He’s worked with us on Motif down the street on Ossington. We handpick the guys we feel are most suited for a particular area.

BBH: How do you envision this area a decade from now?

SF: I think it’s going to get better and better. People who are buying now will say “wow was I lucky when I bought there” and people who didn’t buy there will say “jeez, I’m sorry I missed it.” This is where it’s happening. You walk the streets out there and it is a ball!